"Experience in Emergency Department"

Dear Is this done anymore

Firstly I would like to apologise for your experience at Derby Hospital Emergency Department (ED). I appreciate you bringing this issue to my attention. It was good to hear the doctor you saw was pleasant and I will ensure your compliment is passed onto the medical team.

Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm there are three staff available who can greet people when they arrive at Derby Hospital ED. A triage nurse, an ED clerk and a GP clerk. Each has a particular duty but anyone of these staff can greet visitors. The GP clerk may be collecting a patient file or the triage nurse could be weighing a patient, so the remaining staff member needs to acknowledge people who have arrived in ED. We have reminded the clerical and nursing teams of the importance of acknowledging people who are at the windows, even if at a different window.

When someone arrives at Derby Hospital to be seen in the emergency department, the first person who usually greets them is a nurse at the triage desk. You are correct; blood, pressure, heart rate and temperature are important information to appropriately assess in most people presenting to the emergency department. But not for all, and it may not have been necessary for your presentation to know blood pressure, heart rate and temperature. In order for me to investigate this I will need to get some more details from you and ask that you contact me directly on 0419 043 610 or via email on rachele.humbert@health.wa.gov.au

I look forward to hearing from you,

Rachele Humbert

Operations Manager, Derby Hospital